4 | Sole Source, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling and Having it All with Beth Borgen”

David Kalsow 0:00

This episode is brought to you by Red Shoes incorporated and its podcast sole source sole source is a podcast made by women for women with a goal of educating and entertaining. For more info and to listen to the show, visit the link in the show notes. I'm David Kalsow. And you're listening to APC Presents Bri showcase independent podcasters from Northeast Wisconsin. This week on Dave's faves we pull from the sole source feed we're eavesdropping on rickles interview from earlier this year, with Lakeland University's new president Beth, Oregon. As the first female president she wants to show that women can have it all be a mother of three wife to a great husband and lead a university. So I am pleased to present the sole source Episode Number 40, breaking the glass ceiling and having it all with Beth, Oregon.

Raquel Lamal 1:08

You're listening to the sole source podcast I'm your host Raquel Lamal soul source exists to share stories that are shaping our world today, we go straight to the source of the information to give you the best insight on topics and show you what's being done about these issues, as well as how you can help to make a difference. So buckle up sole source society because we're about to get started.

Beth Borgen 1:28

His his first question was, how can you do that you have three kids. And the response. And I didn't say that someone responded on another man responded on my behalf and said, Hold on there, you would not say that if she was a male candidate.

Raquel Lamal 1:44

Hello, I'm your host, Raquel Lamal. I hope you're all having a fantastic day out there. Today, I want to talk about something that's impacting many of the ladies career and life balance. Now it's something that I know both men and women struggle with, but for some reason, it seems to impact women more. I recently read an article in The Atlantic It was written by a woman named Anne Marie slaughter on why women still can't have it all. This article talks about the demands of a career, the author worked in Washington and juggling a family life. And it said that unless women are given flexible schedules, they cannot strive to have it all. So I posed this question to many of our followers in the sole source society Facebook page. And your responses were very interesting. Many of you disagreed with the author and said, Yes, women can have it all just not at the same time. Or that it depends on what all means to each individual one. Well, that got me thinking about my life personally. See, I've worked in two different careers in my life, at least major ones, I'm not talking about the cashiering jobs I had when I was in high school in college. And I was a television news reporter for a period of time. And now I work at a public relations agency. And one career I had very little flexibility with my hours and in another I have a lot of flexibility. I'm currently pregnant, I'm doing April with my first child, he's going to be a little boy. And I find myself thinking a lot about how I would handle this pandemic, my husband's non flexible papermill work schedule and my previous career as a journalist with this baby. You see, as a TV news reporter, you have to go where the news is, that means I was on the road if breaking news would hit my news director wanted to send me to cover a story. Well, I had a goal, whether that meant pulling a double shift or not. How would I find childcare for my soon to be her son with a schedule like that, and a husband who works shift work and he can't flex his schedule either. I know women do this every single day. But I can't help thinking it would be a heck of a lot easier if employers could accommodate life and work. And I do believe this pandemic has shown in many cases, that people can still achieve the work that needs to be done and have those flexible schedules. My guest today is a woman who has found a way to have it all. She is breaking the glass ceiling becoming the first female president at Lakeland University, and it's more than 100 year history. And she is shaking things up to to accommodate for a more flexible schedule for employees at the university. But borgen is my guest today. I'm so honored to have you on the show. Beth, welcome to sole source. Thank you so much. I think this is really exciting to be talking with you today. And I'm happy you're here. I think your story is gonna resonate with a lot of our listeners. So first off, Congratulations on becoming the first woman president at the university. That's got to feel amazing.

Beth Borgen 4:29

Thank you. Certainly, it's been an interesting journey. And I'm excited and humbled to take on the new role.

Raquel Lamal 4:36

Can you remind me where Lakeland University is exactly because there's a few different branches, right? Sure. Yes.

Beth Borgen 4:41

So Lakeland University has really three different types of colleges. We have our traditional campus, which is the typical 18 year old population out of high school. There's about between 708 100 students and that's located in Plymouth, Wisconsin. And then we also have seven adult education centers around the state. And that is, a lot of times women balancing jobs, school children, evening weekend and online coursework, undergraduate and graduate programs. And that's seven locations around the state. And we also have a campus in Tokyo and associates degree program in in Tokyo.

Raquel Lamal 5:18

Wow, that's impressive. So I want to talk with you about this position that you're in first a female president at the university. Walk me through that, how does that happen? Sure. So

Beth Borgen 5:28

I've been blessed to be at Lakeland for 15 years now in various roles. And I always found myself working for men, which was fine. And I learned a lot, I learned a lot about different styles. I've been fortunate to work at a place that has been flexible. I've had three children since I've been there. I also went through a graduate program and a doctoral program while having those three children and working full time and and being a mom, and also having a husband with a demanding job. So at Lakeland, as I mentioned, I always had a male Boss, I never envisioned myself becoming president, it was not on my bucket list, nothing I ever fathom, even thinking about until I was encouraged by one of my male bosses to think about it. So it was interesting that it was nothing I ever aspired to do. And when it was first brought to my attention, that I didn't necessarily think I had it in me to do it. But I was encouraged by a male role model to get my doctorate degree and that there was no reason why I wouldn't be able to do something like this. Now, when you found out, you got the role, what was going through your head, it was it was an amazing journey. As you might imagine, with that type of search, it is a long process. I've been through so many interviews that you can't even begin to imagine. But it was really exciting. I hadn't thought too much about the female piece of it until I was further along into the process. And when I came home and first told my kids, I've got two girls and a boy, the girls, when I told them, I was the first female president, and they're 10 and 12. They didn't get it. They didn't understand why that was a big deal, which to me was incredibly rewarding that that generation didn't make anything of it that why of course, why wouldn't there be a female president? It was unexpected. But I really enjoyed hearing that from them.

Raquel Lamal 7:28

Awesome. They're seeing everyone is equal. That's a good sign for a future. I like that. So what do you think your appointment to this position means about the time that we're living in I mean, Kamala Harris, she's just appointed Vice President for the United States. first woman to do that Biden, President Biden has appointed several women to first time roles. This is kind of a monumental point in time we're living and do you feel the weight of that a little bit?

Beth Borgen 7:53

I do. I think it's a really interesting time for us and opportunity for us. Not only in politics, but I was participating in another conference with first time presidents from all around the country. And there were probably about 45 of us or so on the call. And it was really cool to see I want to say almost 10 women that said, I am the first female president of XYZ University. So it was neat to see in higher education, that there is momentum, and there is definitely more women taking on leadership roles. Awesome.

Raquel Lamal 8:29

So talk with me a little bit about the responsibilities that you have as Boss Lady on campus, as well as mother, how are those responsibilities different than some of the the normal roles? I mean, this role has traditionally been filled by men. So how do your responsibilities differ from the traditional people in this role?

Beth Borgen 8:48

Yeah, great question. I think one of the interesting pieces about this presidency not only being female, but being a mother and having three young children. I think it's gonna really add to the campus community, a part of my job will include living on campus, my family is moving to the campus, we will be at different campus activities will be inviting students to our home, I think I hope will be really great for our students to see a strong female leader on campus, but also a strong female leader that has a family and has kids and makes them a part of the career so I'm really excited selfishly for my family because I think what a cool place to grow up by for my eight year old 10 year old 12 year old but also to be a role model and to show young women on campus that you you can have it all if you choose to have it all and you work hard. Absolutely. It's just it's a juggling act isn't it certainly is.

David Kalsow 9:47

Welcome to the Podcast Fast Class! Lesson two we got our big idea. Lesson three, we're talking about consistent content creation. Consistency is key to growing your audience just starting out. Continuously coming up with ideas, topics and themes can be I'm grueling though without a decent system. So however your system looks here are some good starting points write down every idea you have the most horrible ones and the angels from heaven. Use something like Notion, Asana, Google Sheets, or your phone's note app so it's with you everywhere you go share with your co hosts, so you can collaborate. And on each one, note whether it's a trending topic or an evergreen topic. If it's trending and needs to be produced quickly. If it's evergreen, we may have some time to make it up. Also, ask yourself if it would be a great podcast episode. Or if it would make a better social post blog or email. Scan the online forums, Facebook groups, Twitter topics, Reddit, they're great for niche group discussion that you can pull ideas from and make your own. And finally go for a walk outside. There's some science behind it. But a lot of ideas come from not thinking about what you're thinking about. With your big idea in mind, try coming up with 10 evergreen content ideas, let us know and watch the slower video version of this in the APC Members Facebook Group. Link in the notes, back to the show.

And you know, my I officially take the role January 1, I think it's going to be incredibly important to find those opportunities outside of the normal office hours where I don't want to be working in the evenings and not be around for my family. So how can I engage my family in those evening activities, and I'm looking forward to doing that.

And to that point, you know, you're you're living this, and you're also trying to practice what you preach. I talked with you a little bit before we got on here, you're kind of changing the structure of the way things kind of work at Lakeland. Tell me a little bit about what you're doing there.

Yes, I'm going to be meeting with our leadership team actually next week, to unveil some new ideas and to talk about expectations and roles. As in probably any organization right now. We've found ourselves working around the clock. It's an interesting year. And it's not sustainable for us to continue to work at the pace we're at. We all have families, we all have lives, it would be healthier for all of us and healthier for our students and the success of the university. If we all get more work life balance. So my goal as the leader is to set the example. And I'm going to set some very strict rules and and share them with my team members and encourage them to consider something similar. But make very clear that there are hours that I am simply not available. If it's an emergency call on my cell phone, I am not checking email, I'm going to be sure I have dinner times set aside to be with my family, whether it be in our home, or whether it be in the cafeteria with students, I'm not sure yet. I'm really going to strongly encourage folks to take vacation. I think so many of us did not take vacation this year. It's just been a challenging year. And it's no downfall to anyone. Everyone's just been working extra hard. But I think we have a great team, we trust one another. But I think if we all get on the same page in terms of expectations, it will be helpful. So for instance, if I'm emailing people at 910 11 o'clock at night, they might feel like they need to respond to me. Well, that's not the case. So I'm going to look at you know, even scheduling emails, if there's something I need to do and get it off my plate, I can do it at night, but not have it sent until work hours so people don't feel obligated to reply. So I'm going to look at some ways and get some ideas from the team to how we can support one another in making sure we're not burning ourselves out.

I that's just such a it's such an insightful way of doing things that I just wish was more common practice. How are you hoping to change like this is going to impact your staff and just the way that the university functions overall? Sure, I'm

hoping it's a welcomed approach. I really think this type of approach would not work. If it didn't start in the president's office, I think setting an example. And then talking with my leadership team to be sure they set that example to their teams. So it trickles to everybody in the organization. I'm excited, I think it will be embraced, it will be different for some, especially the more traditional folks on campus. But I do hope that people will see very quickly the value, health wise, wellness wise, productivity wise, that we will all be more energized to do our work. Well.

And speaking of that, I mean, we've talked a little bit here about generations a little bit. You talked about the traditional generation just now we talked about your kids beforehand. You and I are having a conversation about being first women. So this is the Millennial Generation X conversation here. So as you talked and mentioned all these differences in the generations, what was some of the differences that you notice from the generations and the reactions to your appointment in this position? talk with me about that. How did the older veterans react versus you know, the younger ones?

Yeah, I think probably the starkest contrast would have been my kids reaction from their generation that oh, this is no big deal. Mom's a president. That's what women do. And then I heard from another gentleman while I was in the process, and I love him dearly. No offense to him. What Whoever, but his generation his his first question was, how can you do that you have three kids. And the response, and then I didn't say it, someone responded, another man responded on my behalf and said, Hold on there, you would not say that if she was a male candidate. And he said, Gosh, you're right. You're right. I'm sorry. So I think if it wasn't intentional, he wasn't trying to be difficult. But that was his initial reaction that shows a whole nother generation of the initial thought process about a woman taking on a leadership role.

And it's so interesting to hear that and to see the differences of the progress that's been made, but it's taken years to get there. What are you hoping that other women will take away from your story,

I guess my hope would be that that you can have it all. And that doesn't mean it's easy to have it all. You need a supportive partner. You need supportive children, you need supportive colleagues. But you can build a culture and a team around you that understands and values the importance of work life balance, and it can be done. If I can get through a doctoral program with three little kids and an executive vice presidency role, working full time, I just feel like I've been blessed to have the family to support it, to have the boss who supported it, a male boss who supported it, and to have an organization that allowed me the flexibility to be able to do it all.

We'll be right back after this short break. If you've ever thought about starting your own podcast, you'll want to listen up, I can tell you firsthand, starting the sole source podcast has been a ton of fun, and is one of the best decisions I've made in my professional career. But it can definitely feel overwhelming if you don't know how to get started. That's where this awesome company called buzzsprout comes in. buzzsprout is by far the easiest and best way to launch a professional podcast. In fact, it's so good, they've already helped more than 100,000 people launch their own podcast buzzsprout will get your podcast into every major podcasting platform like Apple podcasts, Spotify, and Google podcasts, just name a few. You also get a great looking podcast website, audio players, you can drop into other websites, detailed analytics to see how people are listening to your podcast and tools to promote your episodes, and so much more. Plus buzzsprout publishes new podcasts, YouTube episodes and blog posts every week. These helped me immensely. learn the ins and outs of podcasting from the experts in the business. To start your own podcast and get a $20 amazon gift card follow the link in the show notes. This lets buzzsprout know that we sent you and it also helps support sole source buzzsprout The easiest way to start a podcast Welcome back. And let's talk about the guy's there for a minute because, you know, you talked about a male boss and and your husband, what is the role that men play in helping women climb that that ladder?

I think it's a huge role. I have been blessed to have a wonderful husband who has supported me along the way. He is, you know, he's in this. This is a true partnership. We're moving to campus, we're moving our families. So before any of this was even a possibility, we have that conversation, are you we're gonna live on campus, we need to set an example for our students, we need to be engaged in activities. I need to get a doctorate degree before I can do this. Are you willing to have me gone? I was gone once a month for three nights. And I've got three, we've got three little kids. So he said yes. And he never made me feel guilty. I think that's one of the biggest things never ever made me feel guilty about being gone. And I would come home exhausted after 25 hours of classes over the weekend. And he would have the laundry done. And he would have the room pick the the rooms picked up and he would have supper ready and a drink waiting for me when I walked in the door. So I think having that support, and not having that feeling of guilt is what made it possible.

You brought up a point that I was initially going to ask you you know how your husband responded, but you kind of told me what he did. But what I find interesting there and what I feel like sometimes maybe women kind of combat with a little bit is those traditional male versus female roles in the household. And you just talked about being gone. And he was doing laundry and making meals and taking care of kids. That's normally something that people consider a woman's job. So let's talk about that part. Just Just a little here about the importance of gender roles really aren't gender roles. It's a partnership.

Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's kind of funny. I'm in my basement right now working. My kids are upstairs virtual learning. My eight year old boy just put in a load of laundry. So I think certainly fathers set an example for their sons. And it is truly important. Yes, we all have kind of the things that we each do. But when it comes down to it, we really do share the household responsibilities here.

Last question on this one is why is it so important? Men are supporting women. What happens if they aren't in your corner? They aren't backing you up?

Yeah, I think it wouldn't be possible for the what we're seeing today, though momentum and female leadership. I think if we didn't have men, or women for that matter supporting us in some way, shape or form, it wouldn't be possible we wouldn't see the progression that we're seeing. So I think having that family support is really, really important to the continued momentum of women taking on leadership roles.

Do you ever think you'd be a trailblazer like this? I mean, you're in a pretty cool role here.

No, I just feel blessed every day count my blessings. For all the support I've had I never was I said I never wanted to be a college president never even thought about it. Certainly not even thought about being the first female anything. So as a first generation college student who never imagined going beyond my bachelor's degree, I just it's been an interesting journey. And I've been blessed with the right people and the right places and the right support.

Some well, but thank you, I can't thank you enough for being here sharing your story with us. It's really an honor to talk with you today. This has been fantastic.

Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Such an interesting conversation. So thanks to Raquel Lamal for sharing with us. If you want to hear more stories like this, go follow and review the Sole Source podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. If you didn't listen to last week's episode with Raquel, go do that right now to get that behind the scenes scoops on all that goes on in the Sole Source scene, the Sole Source society. I mean, that is their Facebook group, you can go there too and help input on the stories that you just heard. So you also probably heard one of Raquel's little ads there for Buzzsprout. It's a great hosting platform, but it's not the only one. You can support Sole Source by clicking the link in the notes and start your journey into podcasting with Buzzsprout. For even more support locally, you might know where I'm heading with this, head over to Appletonpodcast.com and become a free member. We're also going to be talking about hosting platforms in the Podcast Fast Class in the next couple of weeks. So stay tuned. And next week, we're taking it from the classroom to the field as we're going to talk with a sports master himself and how he handles a daily show. I'm David Kalsow, your neighborly podcast nerd. Thanks for listening

Transcribed by https://otter.ai